Holistic co-working: WeWork Singapore is attentive to culture and lighting

WeWork Singapore, which opened in September 2022, is the latest flagship opening from the fast-growing co-working enterprise. First launched in New York in 2010, the company now has 800 rentable co-working office spaces worldwide, with a presence in every continent (if we omit the frozen land mass of Antarctica). 

WeWork Singapore's new inner-city spaces

The new site is set at 21 Collyer Quay, at the heart of Singapore's Central Business District and is the second largest WeWork space internationally. 

Aiming to create a flow between the interior and public spaces, the design incorporates details in artwork and greenery. At the community bar, a two-sided painting by Joanna Pang was commissioned to sit facing both the indoor space and the street, while a third-floor serenity and wellness area incorporates plants into its lobby, mediating transitions between work and relaxation. 

In creating the co-working spaces, the designers were on a mission to build a social hub and collaborative breeding ground for WeWork's members. Through thoughtful lighting placement and visual and spatial cues to alternate floors, the design for the building is open, allowing for ease of movement and the feel of a ‘vertical social village’. 

Lighting subtly directs users around the building, and towards visual focal points in artwork and Singaporean cultural references. A mural by Kristal Melson, Untitled Mural, references the ‘garden in the sky’ cityscape, and is echoed throughout, while refurbished antique Peranakan tiles line staircases, bringing new life to history and reflecting on regional heritage.

Commenting on the tone of the spaces, Franquibel Lima, VP and global head of design studios at WeWork, explained how the ‘design team blurs the line between hospitality and workspace, while striking a balance between functional, flexible and thoughtful design’. The offices provide for an array of professional lifestyles; quiet corners, dynamic collaborative spaces and focused work areas are all accessible to WeWork members, with a variety of rentable areas of different scales and flexibility. 

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